Internship Blog: Cynthia Caul Post #2

Targeting a Diverse Demographic

            Part of City of Asylum Pittsburgh’s mission is to “offer a broad range of literary programs in a variety of community settings,” and the Summer on Sampsonia programs are a huge part of that. On one of my first days here, the rest of the staff and I met with the co-founder to discuss his vision for the future growth of the organization. Including an increasingly diverse population in the organization’s activities was one of the focal points of this discussion—how to ensure that the organization’s events and programs are relevant and inclusive of the entirety of the North Side neighborhood and Pittsburgh as a whole. Effectively targeting a diverse population is achieved by the “broad range” and “variety of community settings” aspects of their mission. 

 

Cave Canem Poetry Workshop and Reading (Photo credit: Jason Cohn)

            Since my last post, I’ve worked a number of events with City of Asylum (as a part of the Summer on Sampsonia program), and it’s truly been a variety. We’ve hosted documentary talk-backs about the Amistad Rebellion, new play productions, poetry workshops, book readings, jazz concerts, and family reading programs, to name a few. On the line up for the rest of the summer, we have hip hop concerts, open stages for local artists to showcase their work, censored film screenings, and a number of events catered to youth and families.

 

                                                                    “Raising Readers Together”

            Our audience base shifts from families with children to young hipsters to retirees and many places in between. Sometimes we draw a large audience from the neighborhood. Other times our net reaches wider (including one attendant who traveled down from Erie for a jazz concert!). For each target, the way we plan and market the event evolves accordingly. In many ways it’s a delicate dance. In all ways it’s a lot of work. It’s a lot of fun too, though; and when a successful and well-attended event comes to an end, it’s definitely gratifying. 

Amnesty International Reading and Letter-writing

              Is the process perfect? Have we successfully captured the diversity of Pittsburgh? Certainly not. However, we take stock of what works and doesn’t work, and we use that information to govern our next move. 

Thumbscrew Jazz Concert